Device for an optical-fiber connection

ABSTRACT

Device for the coaxial connection of fiber-optic cables, comprising a single-piece coupling housing ( 10 ) and a single-piece sleeve mount ( 20 ), the sleeve mount ( 20 ) being designed with at least one latching nose ( 21 ) and the coupling housing ( 10 ) being designed with at least one latching mount which complements the at least one latching nose ( 21 ), wherein the latching mount is designed with at least one latching hook ( 14 ) and at least one stop ( 15 ).

This application is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 12/062,704,now U.S. Pat. No. 7,862,243, filed 4 Apr. 2008, which is a Continuationof application Ser. No. 10/513,207, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,377,697, filed 1Sep. 2005, which is the National Stage of Application PCT/EP03/04292,filed 25 Apr. 2003 which claims benefit of Serial No. 102 19 935.3,filed 3 May 2002 in Germany and which applications are incorporatedherein by reference. To the extent appropriate, a claim of priority ismade to each of the above disclosed applications.

The invention relates to a device for a coaxial optical-fiberconnection, comprising a sleeve mount and a coupling housing foraccommodating the sleeve mount.

It is known for optical fibers to be connected coaxially by coupling.The optical-fiber ends which are to be connected are designed withplug-in connectors, which are accommodated by the coupling. The plug-inconnectors are designed with ferrules, which are worked in a highlyprecise manner and are introduced into a sleeve of the correspondingcoupling such that their end surfaces come into contact. The sleeve ismounted in a sleeve mount. For accommodating the plug-in connectors, thesleeve mount is designed, for example, with latching hooks at two ends.The outer shape of the coupling housing is defined by way of the givengeometries of known installation openings. It is known, for easyproduction and installation, for the coupling housing to be configuredin two parts, preferably with two identical housing halves. In order toprevent any possible gap formation between the two housing halves, thelatter are, for example, welded.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,663 discloses a coupling housing for accommodating atwo-part sleeve mount, the coupling housing comprising a basic body anda housing wall designed as a cover. Grooves are made in the basic bodyof the coupling housing, it being possible for complementary tongues,which are formed on the sleeve mount to be inserted into said grooves.The displacement of the connecting seam here is favorable for thestability of coupling. The configuration, however, requires at least twodifferent molds for producing the basic body and the cover.

The Japanese patent application JP2000266963 has disclosed asingle-piece coupling housing into which a single-piece sleeve mount canbe inserted. The sleeve mount is designed with latching noses, whichlatch into complementary through-passages on the coupling housing. Thethrough-passages on the coupling housing can be producedcost-effectively. However, the weakening of the coupling housing in thecontact region of the plug-in connectors as well as the penetration ofdust are disadvantageous.

The invention is based on the technical problem of providing a devicewhich is intended for a coaxial optical-fiber connection, comprising acoupling housing and a sleeve mount, and, with a small number of parts,has a high level of stability.

The problem is solved by the subject matter having the features of claim1. Further advantageous configurations of the invention can be gatheredfrom the subclaims.

A single-piece sleeve mount can be latched into a single-piece couplinghousing, the latching mount on the coupling housing being designed withat least one latching hook and at least one stop. A coupling with thecoupling housing and the sleeve mount being designed in one piece ineach case has a higher level of stability in comparison with thecouplings of two-part design. The single-piece embodiment of thecoupling housing prevents any possible gap formation in the contactlocation of two housing halves. It is possible for the coupling housingto be formed in a single mold. There is no need for any locking elementsor similar additional parts for a latching fastening of the sleeve mountin the coupling housing. The use of a latching fastening, in addition,is suitable for automated installation. It is possible for the latchingmount to be formed in the coupling housing without through-passages inthe coupling housing.

In a preferred embodiment, the stop and latching hook of the latchingmount do not have any undercut. This allows a cost-effective design ofthe mold and precise follow-up work on the contact surfaces without anyspecial tools being used.

In a development, the latching hook is designed with a slope, whichserves as an installation aid. The angle may be selected in accordancewith the required load-bearing force of the latching mount and in orderto be suitable for maximum admissible forces during the joiningoperation.

In a further embodiment, the latching mount of each latching nosecomprises two stops and one latching hook, the latching hook beingarranged between the stops. The arrangement allows the latching nose ofthe sleeve mount to be accommodated in a stable manner. A designcomprising two latching hooks and one centrally located stop is alsoconceivable in order for the latching nose to be accommodated in astable, non-tilting manner. However, for production reasons, theembodiment with two stops and one latching hook is preferred.

In a further embodiment, the latching fastening is designed with twolatching mounts on mutually opposite housing walls. The embodiment withtwo latching mounts allows stable attachment. For installation of thesleeve mount in the coupling housing, temporary deformation of thehousing is necessary in order to allow passage beyond the projectinglatching-hook geometry. It is advantageous here if the housing has arelatively small accumulation of material at this location. The housingis usually designed with flanges on the outsides of two mutuallyopposite housing walls, for attachment to a front panel, with the resultthat, in the case of this embodiment, the latching mounts are preferablymade on the insides of the other two housing walls.

Specific applications require a connection piece which serves, forexample, as a protective device against the emission of laser light. Inorder to prevent any change in the outer dimensions of the coupling,which are defined by way of the given installation openings, anypossible connection piece may be attached to the coupling housing by anadditional inner latching fastening. The formation of the latchingsockets for the sleeve mounts on two mutually opposite housing wallsmakes it possible for the additional latching fastening to be formed onthe other two housing walls. The task of forming the latching fasteningfor the connection piece does not have any adverse effect on the task offorming the latching mounts for the sleeve mount.

The invention is explained in more detail hereinbelow with reference toa preferred exemplary embodiment. In the figures:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a coupling for coaxialoptical-fiber connection,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a sleeve mount,

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a cut-open coupling housing, and

FIG. 4 a sectional illustration of the coupling housing with the sleevemount installed.

FIG. 1 shows, schematically, a coupling 1 for the coaxial connection offiber-optic cables. The coupling 1 comprises a coupling housing 10, inwhich a concealed sleeve mount 20 is mounted. The end of a fiber-opticcable is designed with a plug-on connector 30, which can be accommodatedin the coupling 1 on both connection sides of the concealed sleeve mount20. The coupling housing 10 is designed with a groove 11. For a goodorientation and/or positioning of the plug-in connector 30 in thecoupling 1, the plug-in connector 30 is designed with a complementarytongue 31.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective illustration of the sleeve mount 20. Thesleeve mount 20 is designed with a latching nose 21, latching hooks 22,an axial bore 23 and a spacer 24. The latching nose 21 is part of alatching fastening for fixing the sleeve mount 20 in the couplinghousing 10, which is illustrated in FIG. 1. The cross section of thelatching nose 21 is preferably of rectangular design. This provides fora both straightforward production and a high loading capability of theassociated latching fastening. The latching hooks 22 serve foraccommodating the plug-in connector 30, which is illustrated in FIG. 1.In order for the plug-in connector 30 to be accommodated by the latchinghooks 22, the latching hooks 22 need to move. The sleeve mount 20 isthus to be mounted in the coupling housing 10 (not illustrated in FIG.2), such that this movement is not obstructed and a plug-in connector 30can be accommodated by the latching hooks 22. In addition, good lateralguidance of the sleeve mount 20 in the coupling housing 10 is required.For this purpose, spacers 24 are provided on the sleeve mount 20. Thecontact location of two plug-in connectors 30 connected by the coupling1 is located in a sleeve which is not illustrated but can be insertedinto a bore 23 of the sleeve mount 20. The material of the sleeve may beselected here in accordance with the connection-quality requirements.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective illustration of the cut-open coupling housing10. The coupling housing 10 is designed with flanges 16 on the outsidesof two housing walls 12, it being possible for the coupling housing 10to be attached to a front panel (not used) by means of said flanges. Arectangular through-passage for accommodating the sleeve mount 20, whichis illustrated in FIG. 2, is made in the coupling housing 10. In eachcase one latching mount, comprising a latching hook 14 and two stops 15,is made on one housing wall 13 and on the opposite housing wall (notillustrated).

The latching nose 21 of the sleeve mount 20, said latching nose beingillustrated in FIG. 2, can be fixed between the latching hook 14 and thestops 15. The sleeve mount 20 can be installed automatically in thelatching direction R in the single-piece coupling housing 10. Thelatching hook 14 is designed with a slope 141 for the purpose ofassisting the latching-in operation. Easy definition of the couplinghousing 10 is necessary in the latching operation in order to allowpassage beyond the latching hook 14. The housing walls 12 have anaccumulation of material in this region on account of the flanges 16which are usually present. The latching mounts are thus preferablyformed on the housing walls 13. By the avoidance of any undercuts, thecoupling housing 10 can be produced cost-effectively as a plasticinjection molding using a single mold. The contact surfaces 151 of thestops 15, said surfaces being concealed in FIG. 3, can be worked in aprecise manner by way of access in the latching direction R. A contactsurface 142 of the latching hook 14 can be worked by way of accesscounter to the latching direction R. There is thus no need for anyspecial tool for follow-up work on the contact surfaces 142, 151.

FIG. 4 shows the coupling housing 10 with a sleeve mount 20 installed.The designations here correspond to the preceding figures. The sleevemount 20 is fixed between the latching hook 14 and the stops 15 via thelatching nose 21. The fixing of the sleeve mount 20 does not require anyfurther locking elements. The contact surfaces 142, 151 of the latchingmount may be produced in a precise manner, with the result that play isavoidable.

The outer shape of the coupling 1 is determined by way of the givengeometry of an installation opening, and it is only the length of thecoupling 1 which can be varied within limits. For example, it ispossible for the coupling housing 10 to be extended by a connectionpiece, which provides protection against the emission of laserradiation. In addition, it is also conceivable for dust-protectiondevices to be positioned on the coupling housing 10 when the plug-inconnector 30 is subjected to pulling. For accommodating a connectionpiece, the housing walls 12 are designed with additional latching noses17 at terminations of the coupling housing 10. The task of forming thelatching noses 17 does not adversely effect the task of forming thelatching mount for the sleeve mount. In order to avoid undercuts, thelatching noses 17 are arranged in a diagonally offset manner.

LIST OF DESIGNATIONS

-   -   1 coupling    -   10 coupling housing    -   11 groove    -   12 housing wall    -   13 housing wall    -   14 latching hook    -   141 slope    -   142 contact surface    -   15 stop    -   151 contact surface    -   16 flange    -   17 latching nose    -   20 sleeve mount    -   21 latching nose    -   22 latching hook    -   23 bore    -   24 spacer    -   30 plug    -   31 tongue

The invention claimed is:
 1. A coupling housing, comprising: a firstpair of opposing walls; a second pair of opposing walls extendingbetween the first pair of opposing walls to define an interior, theopposing walls of the first and second pairs being monolithicallyformed, the opposing walls of the first and second pairs extending alonga longitudinal axis of the coupling housing between a first open end anda second open end; a first retention arrangement located on an innersurface of a first of the opposing walls of the first pair, the firstretention arrangement including a latching hook spaced from a stop alongthe longitudinal axis of the coupling housing; and a second retentionarrangement located on an inner surface of a second of the opposingwalls of the first pair, the second retention arrangement including alatching hook spaced from a stop along the longitudinal axis of thecoupling housing, the latching hook of the second retention arrangementbeing laterally aligned with the latching hook of the first retentionarrangement.
 2. The coupling housing of claim 1, wherein each retentionarrangement includes two stops.
 3. The coupling housing of claim 2,wherein the latching hook of each retention arrangement is locatedintermediate the two stops of the retention arrangement.
 4. The couplinghousing of claim 2, wherein the two stops of the first retentionarrangement are laterally aligned with the two stops of the secondretention arrangement.
 5. The coupling housing of claim 1, wherein theopposing walls of the first pair are larger than the opposing walls ofthe second pair.
 6. The coupling housing of claim 1, wherein thelatching hook of each retention mechanism is sloped towards the firstopen end.
 7. The coupling housing of claim 1, further comprising asleeve mount configured to slide through the first open end of thecoupling housing into the interior of the coupling housing.
 8. Thecoupling housing of claim 7, wherein the sleeve mount includes a firstlatching nose and a second latching nose that are configured to coupleto the first retention arrangement and the second retention arrangement,respectively, of the coupling housing to secure the sleeve mount withinthe coupling housing.
 9. The coupling housing of claim 8, wherein eachof the latching noses is fixed between the latching hook and the stop ofthe respective retention arrangement.
 10. The coupling housing of claim8, wherein the sleeve mount is monolithically formed.
 11. The couplinghousing of claim 8, wherein the sleeve mount includes spacers.
 12. Thecoupling housing of claim 1, wherein flanges extend outwardly from thesecond pair of opposing walls.